4 Chicken breeds - some observations

Forage dish in the brooder, day 2

When deciding which type of chickens to get, I asked for a recommendation from someone in the area and I went online as well.

Here are the characteristics I was looking for to start with:

heat tolerance
good forager
egg layers
not too broody

The first chicken breed that was
recommended was: Buff Catalana, however,  they were already sold out till July from the place I was going to get them, so I started with assorted light chickens, Mediterranean if possible, which I originally thought to get as the second batch mostly for fun and variety with at least some of the desired characteristics.

I got 4 different kinds of chicks, 25 in a straight run (they sent 2 extra), and I am still discovering which is male or female. They are currently 4 weeks old:

11 Blue Andalusians (4 black, 4 splash, 3 blue)
6 Sicilian Buttercups
5 Egyptian Fayoumis (1 died at day 4, after pasting)
4 Golden Polish

I wanted the chicks not to be freaked out every time they saw me - so I spent a lot of time in the coop, where the brooder was and hand-fed them treats.

Buttercup  chick

Buttercups -  from day 1, they wanted to be close to me and did

What chicken breed should I get?

How I chose the chicken breed to start out with.

I agreed to work a piece of land as best I could for food - and suggested to be able to get some chickens after having read "The small scale poultry flock". Finally I got the go-ahead. Being a total noob on chickens, I wondered which chickens should I get?

The decision on which chickens to get depends on what you want the chicken to do or mean for you.

Do you want them for eggs or do you want them for meat or both? Do you want to breed and show them? Do you live in a hot or cold climate? Do you want them as pets? Do you want them to work the soil?

I wanted: high egg layers, the climate here is mostly hot, I preferred friendly if possible, color does not matter, not to prone to flying away, not to inclined to want to sit on the nest to have baby chickens (called broody) but rather working the land.

I asked a friend in the area what I should get: and he said: Buff Catalana.
I also found the interactive decision maker help below, and got Buff Catalana when I chose: dual purpose together with high egg laying and seldom broody and hot climate.

Otherwise, there were a couple of other breeds. One consideration: heavier meat chickens are less prone to fly. I was told the buff catalana work the soil well.

So I ordered buff catalana chickens, from a recommended source and that meant a straight run. Most on that the next post.That is, I sent off the order - because as of today, I have not heard from them. They only do snail mail orders, prepaid.

Here is a very good page to find out about which chicken is best suited for you 
You can click the boxes which apply to you and it will show you the chicken breeds that will fit that characteristic..
and here is a page for Buff Catalana's

Below is an image taken today while looking at a friend's chicken set up and structures.

The light brownish hens are the Buff Catalanas